Dapper Scout – A lifestyle web magazine for men

When it comes to our favorite cold beverages, we appreciate the added chill that only ice cubes can impart.  And with the Iced Caraffe by Officeoriginair (available at FormNation for $28), our drinks stay refreshingly cold from the first pour to the last.  Simply fill the Iced Caraffe with water up to the indication level and place it flat in your freezer.  Once the ice cubes form around the “spine” on the inside of the carafe, just fill it right up again with water (or your drink of choice), and as your drink begins to cool down, the ice cubes will do their job and naturally release from the inside.  Available in a taupe or warm grey color, the Iced Caraffe ensures that every one of your thirst-quenching indulgences will be a frosty one.

Eat & Drink, Kitchen, Loft, Water Bottle

The Dutch may have had a little something to do with the origins of the Dutch oven, but with the Slowcooker by Margriet Foolen (available at Royal VKB for approximately $55), they’ve moved on to one of our favorite means of preparing food: the slow cooker.  The result of Margriet Foolen’s graduation project at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, the Slowcooker is functional simplicity at its best.  Just place your ingredients in the terra cotta/silicone container and set it in the oven.  By cooking/steaming food in its own essence, the Slowcooker ensures that whatever is placed within, will emerge tender, moist, and full of flavor.  It will practically idiot-proof your next foray into the world of gastronomy by doing all the work for you (just make sure to choose your ingredients wisely).

Eat & Drink, Kitchen, Loft

There was a time not so long ago, when the editors at DS were on a strict budget.  That meant a relatively austere lifestyle without some of the things that made life worth even living (e.g. cable TV, beer, movies).  Our dietary restrictions were also pretty much restricted by the lack of any disposable income.  Translation: we ate a lot of sandwiches.  We didn’t even own a toaster, which in hindsight, probably explained why our sandwiches were often so unsatisfactory.  Now that our financial outlook has considerably improved, we’ve had our eye on the BISTRO Toaster by BODUM (available at BODUM for $80)—a two-slice toaster whose construction and features bring a rare combination of distinctive design and a dosage of fun to the kitchen.  With a stainless steel body wrapped in a perforated rubber housing (available in eight colorways), the BISTRO Toaster features 900 watts of power, variable browning and temperature settings, a pop-up rack for keeping bread products warm, adjustable-width slots, removable crumb-tray, and a stable base from which you can adjust cord length as well as store the cord itself.  The BISTRO Toaster has everything you’re looking for: the looks, a personality, and all the charm a kitchen appliance could hope to muster (which in this case, is quite a lot).

Eat & Drink, Kitchen, Loft

We’re all about keeping things as simple as possible, especially around the kitchen.  With our OCD tendencies often at full odds with the chaos we tend to create when preparing food, it’s a constant battle between simultaneously cooking and cleaning that often results in us partially losing our minds by the time the food is ready to eat.  Enter fusionbrands, whose full range of intelligently designed products perfectly represent their mission to make things “easier, faster and more pleasurable” in the kitchen (and beyond).

fusionbrands iceorb (available at fusionbrands for $16): as the most versatile ice tray we’ve ever seen, the iceorb does so much more than just make ice cubes.  Not only does it produce 21 ice cubes on its vertical wall, but it also stores up to 51 ice cubes in an airtight and odor-free manner, while able to chill bottled beverages as well as keep foods cold when used as a serving container. With a spill-proof design that’s dishwasher safe, the iceorb is also incredibly easy to use and clean—attributes we certainly don’t take for granted.

fusionbrands foodpod (available at fusionbrands for $15): made of FDA/EU food-safe silicone and BPA-free nylon, the foodpod is the ideal way of boiling/blanching/steaming food, whether it’s eggs, vegetables, or even shellfish.  The flexible non-stick silicone allows the foodpod to fit in virtually any pot without damaging the food contained and the grip clip lets you easily remove it from pots, letting water quickly drain away.  We can’t imagine a more intuitive way to hold, cook and then transport your food when you’ve got boiling water in the picture.

DS Recommends, Kitchen, Loft

While we can’t imagine our lives without purified water, the one thing we can live without is the constant filter replacement that’s necessary every few months (and the plastic waste from the filters themselves certainly doesn’t help matters either).  With the Charcoal Water Pitcher (available at Design Within Reach for $85), water is purified using Iouseki stones (from the mountains of Kanazawa on the coast of the Sea of Japan) and Binchotan charcoal that’s been adapted for potable water use.  The result is an environmentally-friendly water filtration system with an appealingly sleek aesthetic that not only purifies water, but also leaves it odor-free and enriched with minerals.  And as the charcoal and stones themselves last approximately six months, you won’t have to replace them as often as traditional filters, and when disposed of, won’t languish in landfills taking eons to decompose.

Going green, Kitchen, Loft

Though Mayor Bloomberg may have an issue with New Yorkers’ overall salt intake, the editors at DS are convinced that using a higher quality salt (in selectively measured amounts) can yield some highly flavorful results without being unhealthy.  Leave it to some native Kentuckians to come up with the means to this savory end.  Perfect for seasoning your soups, stews and any of your basic proteins, Rattlesnake Hill Farm Bourbon Smoked Garlic Salt (available at Rattlesnake Hill Farm for $6) is a Kosher Celtic sea salt infused with an exquisite combination of bourbon and sustainably grown garlic that will add a layer of complexity to any dish in need of a flavor boost.  As quantities are limited and subject to availability, we suggest getting your spice rack stocked with at least a few bottles.

Eat & Drink, Kitchen

Growing up, we totally believed it when our parents told us it took about seven years for chewing gum to pass through the digestive system.  If only our ever-increasing trash problem was more of an urban legend that we didn’t have to worry about (vs. an environmental fact we’d rather not face today).  With landfills full of plastic trash bags that generally don’t decompose, here are two products that can help change the way you dispose of your garbage and waste one bag/bin at at time.

Item A.
Green Genius Biodegradable Trash Bags (available at Green Home starting from $14):  made of 40% recycled plastic, these Green Genius trash bags undergo a special process that allows the plastic to be consumed by microbes found in landfills, completely breaking down the bags into organic matter such as sugars and amino acids.  These trash bags not only meet ASTM D5511 (the standard for biodegradability), but also feature the same level of durability and reliability as their non-biodegradable competitors.

Item B.
NatureMill Compost Bin (available at NatureMill starting from $299): capable of accepting vegetables, meat, fish and dairy (as well as pet waste), this highly capable compost bin can be used indoors as well as outdoors.  With automatic mixing (every four hours), continuous air flow, and a strong carbon filter, the NatureMill Compost Bin ensures complete odor elimination while allowing you to add food waste at any time during the composting process.  After two weeks, a red light informs you when to empty the bin, and with energy costs limited to approximately 50 cents a month, it’s a small price to pay to divert over two tons of waste over the life of the compost bin that would otherwise have gone to a landfill.

DS Recommends, Going green, Kitchen, Loft

Made out of investment-cast stainless steel, borosilicate glass (Pyrex), and food-grade silicone, the Sorapot Teapot by Joey Roth (available at Sorapot starting from $200) transforms the straightforward process of steeping tea into an experience worth watching unfold.  The Sorapot features a distinctive design whose artistry can be appreciated on two levels.  The immediate: watching tea leaves unfurl as the water suspended in the glass tube is imbued with the natural blush of your tea; the eventual: watching your Sorapot take on its own unique characteristics over time as the uncoated stainless steel develops a distinctive patina and luster based on where it’s held, washed and even what tea is used.  Available in a hand-polished mirror finish and a matte finish, the Sorapot exemplifies how a deliberate attention to detail in design can separate the simple from the sublime.

Eat & Drink, Kitchen, Loft, Tea

If there’s one food preparation tool that’s always been underrated, it’s a great pair of kitchen scissors.  With the RSVP Herb Scissors (available at Amazon.com for $9.50), you get the benefit of five stainless steel three-inch blades that let you efficiently chop up fresh herbs directly into your cooking or as a garnish.  And with large plastic handles wrapped in a soft silicone, the RSVP Herb Scissors will rest comfortably in your hand as you go all Edward Scissorhands on whatever herbs may be going into your next meal.

Kitchen, Loft

When we hear the words “cast iron,” we usually think about cooking.  We don’t think of beer or Buddhist temples.  Crafted in Takaoka, Japan (where 17th century metal workers once produced religious items for Buddhist temples), the Cast Iron Wrench Bottle Opener (available at Design Within Reach for $30) exemplifies how the most unlikely of historical origins can perfectly translate to present day design.  The tradition of craftsmanship lives on in the Cast Iron Wrench Bottle Opener, providing you with a little bit of heft and a lot of brio for the next time you’ve got to open up a bottle of beer.

Beer, Eat & Drink, Kitchen, Loft